XIX and XX Centuries

San Felipe continued to be a strategic enclave in the defense of the city during the Independence movements, but once the liberation and pacification of the territory were achieved, the castle began to lose importance until it ended up being abandoned. Invaded by weeds and surrounded by private houses, it was at the point of disappearing, being used as a quarry for several decades. Because of the pressures undertaken by some of the few newspapers aware of the important heritage of the fortress, its title of ownership was transferred to the Republic of Colombia on August 22, 1887. But it would not be until 1928 when the Society for Public Improvements contracted Carlos Crismatt to restore the fortress, which, together with the transfer of the houses located in close proximity, succeeded in rescuing San Felipe for the people of Cartagena and the nation.

In 1969 the Battery of San Lázaro, where the three deep cisterns of the castle were located, caved in because of faults in the terrain, and the castle was reconstructed in part, building offices in its interior a decade later. Today the conservation of this exceptional legacy for future generations continues.